Indonesian Animal: Komodo

Komodo (Varanus Komodoensis) is a genuine animal of Indonesia. This is a species of lizard. This animal inhabits at Taman Nasional Komodo ( Komodo National Park) in Komodo Island, Nusa Tenggara Timur (East Nusa Tenggara) Indonesia. This species is one of a protected animal in Indonesia.

A member of the Varanidae, the Komodo is the largest living species of lizard, growing to an average length of 2–3 meters (approximately 6.5–10 ft). This great length is attributed to island gigantism, as there are no carnivorous mammals to fill the niche in the islands that they live on, and the Komodo dragon's low metabolic rate.As a result of their great size, these lizards are apex predators, dominating the ecosystems in which they live.



Their large size and fearsome reputation makes them popular zoo exhibits. In the wild their range has contracted due to human activities and they are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. They are protected under Indonesian law and a national park, Komodo National Park, was founded in order to protect them.



In the wild, adult Komodos usually weigh around 70 kilograms (154 lb),but captive specimens often weigh more. The largest verified wild specimen was 3.13 meters (10 ft 3 in) long and weighed 166 kilograms (365 lb), including undigested food. Although Komodo dragons are the largest living lizard, they are not the longest, a distinction held by the thinner Papua monitor (Varanus salvadorii).[Komodo dragons have a tail as long as their body, as well as about 60 frequently-replaced serrated teeth that may be up to 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in length.
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Indonesian Culture: Wayang Kulit

Indonesia ia a country with many etnic with many culture of each. One of them is a traditional theatre calles wayang kulit (shadow Puppet). The word wayang is come from Javanese "bayang" mean shadow. Wayang kulit is performance with a traditional orchestra called Gamelan, and there is a singer called Sinden/ or Pesinden.

Wayang kulit is consist of hundred of puppet with diferent character. The story is adapted from India story, Ramayana and Mahabarata, by change and modified some aspect like place, music, become Javanese. Wayang Kulit is popular held to celebrate some occasion like wedding celebration, "ruwatan" to avoid a bad luck. wayang is performing one night, from 10 PM to 5 AM. So, on Javanese is popular with "wayang Kulit Semalam Suntuk", mean one night performance of shadow Puppet.



Wayang is come to Indonesia by Indian thats bring Hinduism. This come before the Christian era, and was slowly adopted as the local belief system. Sanskrit (sansekerta) became the literary and court language of Java and later of Bali. The Hindus changed the Wayang (as did the Muslims, later) to spread their religion, mostly by stories from the Mahabharata or the Ramayana.



There is a family of characters in Javanese wayang called Punakawan; sometimes referred to as "clown-servants" because they usually are associated with the story's hero and also provide humorous and philosophical interludes. Semar is the father of Gareng (oldest son), Petruk, and Bagong (youngest son). Semar is know as a Dewa (angel). This character is added later to addapted with local culture, possibly to introduce mystical aspects of Islam into the Hindu-Javanese stories.

If you want to see this performance, there are many hotel and place in Indonesia that performance this, like many hotel in Yogyakarta, Keraton Yogyakarta, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in Jakarta, Gedung Kesenian Jakarta.




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Bunaken Sea Park

Have you ever seen or hear Bunaken, beautifull sea park. Located at Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. It's a beautifull place to visit. There are many beautifull view, coral, fish, beach. You can swimming, diving, or fishing. Just at one destination: Bunaken, Manado, Indonesia.

Bunaken National Park is very representative of Indonesian tropical water ecosystems, consisting of seagrass plain, coral reef, and land/coastal ecosystems.



The northern part of the Park area covers the islands of Bunaken, Manado Tua, Montehage, Siladen, Nain and Nain Kecil, and part of the Tanjung Pisok coastal area. The southern part of the Park covers part of the Tanjung Kelapa coast.

On land, these islands are rich in species of palm, sagu, woka, silar and coconut. Among the animal species that live on the land and the beaches are black-crested macaques (Macaca nigra nigra), Timor deer (Cervus timorensis russa), and bear-cuscus (Ailurops ursinus ursinus).



The mangrove forest of the Park contains, among others, Rhizophora sp., Sonneratia sp., Lumnitzera sp., and Bruguiera sp. This forest is also rich in species of crab, lobster, mollusc, and sea birds such as gulls, herons, sea doves, and storks.

At Bunaken live about 91 species of fish, among them being the emperor angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator), almaco jack (Seriola rivoliana), spotted seahorse (Hippocampus kuda), yellowstripe snapper (Lutjanus kasmira), four saddle rock cod (Ephinephelus spilotoceps), pinkish basslet (Pseudanthias hypselosoma), two-lined monocle bream (Scolopsis bilineatus), etc.; and species of mollusc such as the great clam (Tridacna gigas), horned helmet (Cassis cornuta), pearly-chambered nautili (Nautilus pompillius), and ascidians.

There are five islands in the Park where visitors can enjoy diving, snorkelling and marine tours.

Cultural attractions outside the Park include the Anniversary of Manado in July and Menulude in January, in Manado.
May to August.

You can reach this destination from Manado harbour, the Nusantara Diving Centre (NDC) Marina in Molas sub-district, and the Blue Banter Marina. From Manado harbour by motor boat to Siladen Island takes 20 minutes; to Bunaken Island, 30 minutes; to Montehage Island, 50 minutes; and to Nain Island, 60 minutes. From Blue Banter Marina heading to the recreation area on Bunaken takes 1015 minutes by cabin cruiser. From the NDC harbour to the dive sites off Bunaken takes 20 minutes by speedboat.

Source and Reference:
http://www.indonesia-sultan-tours.com/day_tours.html

http://www.dephut.go.id/INFORMASI/TN%20INDO-ENGLISH/bunaken_NP.htm

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